World Premiere Of Hitchcock To Open AFI Fest; J.K. Rowling on Harry Potter And The Casual Vacancy Similarities: Biz Break

Also in Thursday's round-up of news briefs, Disney Publishing is planning a book for Tim Burton fans who can't get enough of Frankenweenie. Also this afternoon, a couple of new films that will be heading their way to theaters.

World Premiere of Hitchcock to Open AFI Fest
The film starring Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren as well as Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel and Vera Miles will have its World Premiere November 1st as the Opening Night Gala at AFI Fest 2012. Directed by Sacha Gervasi and based on the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello, the film is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred Hitchcock, and his wife and partner, Alma Reville, which takes place during the making of the distinguished director’s seminal 1960 movie, Psycho. The Fox Searchlight feature will open in theaters this November. The 2012 AFI Fest takes place in Los Angeles November 1 - 8. Lincoln by Steven Spielberg was previously announced as the event's Closing Night gala.

J.K. Rowling Says Similarities Exist Between The Casual Vacancy and Harry Potter
The author said there are common themes between her new adult-oriented novel and her blockbuster Harry Potter series including religion and death, though unlike in the boy wizard novels, she said there are deaths in her new book that readers "won't care much about," THR reports.

Disney Publishing Frankenweenie: An Electrifying Book
Based on Walt Disney's stop-motion animated film by Tim Burton, the interactive book uses video, music and original sketches to offer a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the movie that will be released October 5th. Available on the iBookstore, this book is Disney Publishing’s first to be created with Apple’s iBooks author. Additional information can be found on the Disney Publishing website.

Amphibious: Creature of the Deep is Heading to N. American Theaters
The tongue-in-cheek creature feature by Brian Yuzna was picked up by Freestyle Digital Media. The pic tells the tale of a marine biologist, Skylar Shane, who hires an expat charter boat captain, Jack Bowman, to help her find prehistoric life form samples in the north Sumatran Sea.  After she takes in an orphaned boy, strange occurrences happen on board the ship, including the death of some local smugglers by an unknown entity.

Jen Cohen's Museum Hours Heads to U.S. Theaters
The Cinema Guild has picked up rights to Museum Hours, which debuted at the Locarno Film Festival and had its North American premiere in Toronto. The film centers on a Vienna museum guard befriends an enigmatic visitor, the grand Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes a mysterious crossroads which sparks explorations of their lives, the city, and the ways artworks reflect and shape the world.